Ok guys n gals, my 2nd review
Disclaimer:- I paid the full price for the Stage 1 DSG remap but Nick Decided to change a few more things so made it stage 2 (Custom) and charged only for stage 1 (Reasons for this below), there are no financial incentives/gifts or otherwise for me to write this review and I am in no way affiliated to R-Tech nor sell or manufacture any parts for cars, it was written solely for the purposes that others may be as happy with their own as I am with mine. Now thats cleared up let's get on with my 2nd review:-
Why did I choose R-Tech over its main competitors? (Revo, GIAC, Custom Code)?.
I chose R-Tech after considering many things (Service/Options available/Locality/Individuality/Forum Recommendations).
As some of you will know I usually try to steer well clear of the mass market products and larger tuning houses (Redo/APR etc) and support the smaller companies (although Nick is also a Revo dealer
), I had been advised by my Engine tuner that any of the above 3 companies DSG maps would work fine with my car and other mods already in place.
After browsing the forums it looked like R-Tech had a good reputation and although they do DSG remaps they don't actively advertise the fact (Nick you need to market this product more
)
Price wise it costs A LOT less than the offerings from Revo, GIAC and Custom Code (Prices vary from £350 to over £600),, Custom R-Tech DSG Remap was £200
, std DSG map was £100.
After considering all the above options and also considering that most folks on here seem to have Revo DSG and as I usually prefer something different to the masses it was an easy choice.
The service was excellent, good bunch of lads and even ran me to the garage (In a modified Focus ST) to buy some lunch and ciggies while my car was on the RR
I also asked quite a lot of questions while Nick was beavering away at what looked like the stocks and shares market, but was actually my DSG software
.
It turns out that my car being a later model ED30 (08 plate) and having Mechatronics replaced under warranty in October 2011 that it has an updated DSG software (Stage 2
) so Nick had not seen it before, no matter to Nick, he went through it and changed various things over the course of a couple of hours,. this was the reason he charged me for stage 1 and I got stage 2, as he had not seen this software before he took a copy of it for future use, it helped us both out!.
There are 2 options available, they offer a basic DSG remap which increases Torque limiters (say goodbye to that 0.5 second pause as your DSG box limits the torque) and they also do a Custom version and Nick will change various parameters for you. For mine he changed the following;-
Torque limit increased from 350nm to 550nm.
RPM limit increased from 6200rpm to 7000rpm.
Gear shift speed increased by approx 25-30%
Will hold gear in Manual and Sport modes and stops the auto upchange (Handy for on the Rolling Road, or for spirited driving around bends when you want to hold a gear!)
In "D" (auto) mode, shift points were changed to hold gear a little longer before changing up (Slightly more sporty drive) so now it does not find 6th gear as quickly as was possible, my car goes into 6th when you reach 60mph rather than the original 42mph, this is something we spoke about and we may change this later down the line, so far i'm happy with it as most of the roads are 60mph A roads here anyway.
In "S" Mode the gearbox now holds the best gear which means it holds the gear where rpm is around 3000 to 3500rpm, this is best for quick take offs as max torque/boost will be around 2500-4000rpm
Sourcing/Location:-Available from R-Tech currently in Hinckley area (Leics) Nick is a member on here "R-Tech Nick"
Installing:-Once a rolling road run was completed my car was wired to Nick's Laptop and off he went
Other versions/options available;-Revo, GIAC, Custom Code and possibly others.
Plus Points of R-Tech:-Price, Service, 2 options to choose from and only a 2hr drive away from me.
Minus Points.
Other than the car only changing to 6th when at 60mph in "D" full auto mode everything is great (I am still undecided if I like this aspect or want it to change up a gear at lower speeds, will think about it for another few months
),
SummaryDoes exactly what you need for stage 1+ DSG cars, I would strongly recommend you do the DSG map
BEFORE you get your engine mapped, it will save you money on the long run (Think Nick also offers some discounts on DSG remaps when bought with engine remaps, i'm not sure of the details but worth an ask!)
Having now covered 320+ miles since fitting it is great and lets the engine work as it shouuld (it's a 16V after all and 6200rpm was pants!)
Now my car has been re-mapped to suit the DSG map, I know have 342lb/ft of torque, whereas before I was limited to around 290lb/ft due to DSG limitations, you do notice the extra 50lb/ft and the quicker changes on WOT (My Neighbour could not believe how quick it changed gear and commented that there was no let up between gears
), I can also confirm that the annoying hesitation (DSG box limiting the torque) has now gone!
Would I recommend R-Tech?.
Yes, good bunch of lads, know their stuff, friendly and well priced, cant say fairer than that!